Product Description

Timothy Radcliffe is in demand the world over with Bishops, priests, lay people and above all young people. This new book is his response. Timothy Radcliffe is a charismatic spiritual leader and a rare bird. His talks and broadcasts always surprise. A man with strong liberal instincts, he has held high office in the Roman Catholic Church and has a profound respect for the authority and teaching charisma of his Church. He is constantly in demand as a speaker, lecturer, preacher and broadcaster and in this new volume he has assembled the best of the addresses he has given over the last three years. At times, he is encouraging liturgical reform at others encouraging local Bishops to stand up to Rome. With political sympathies to the left of centre, he shows himself in this new book to be passionately concerned with issues relating to environment, globalisation and the pastoral care of the marginalised and dispossessed. The constant freshness of his message has made this aristocratic Englishman a man for all people and he packs in audiences from Rome to Toronto, from Helsinki to Rio de Janeiro. Shot through with humour, friendship and wisdom, the pages of this book outline a manner of living which is at once faithful to the teachings of Jesus and rooted in the tradition of the church and at the same time responsive to the turbulence of the modern world. He is a prophet for our times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20128 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Timothy Radcliffe OP is a priest and a Dominican friar. He has taught scripture in the University of Oxford and in his mid-forties was elected Master General of the Dominican Order.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful
I cannot praise this book highly enough. It opens up the riches of traditions in the church, and allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about how to build on those traditions. There is none of the dogma that one finds with some contemporary Christian writers.

It doesn't sink to the level of answering the superficial questions that people ask, but looks at the person behind those questions, and how they relate to the world. Like any good writer, he compliments the reader by assuming an ability to engage with the text no matter what their education, and anyone reading this will find something to help them.
He is not patronising, but encouraging, and doesn't push the RC line down one's throat. I'm a Methodist, and found that the book spoke to me far more deeply than many other 'protestant' writers.

I would recommend this as a follow-on from someone like McLaren, or CS Lewis, as it continues the open-hearted and open-minded thinking of both authors.

So - what is the point? Read this and find out!
Anyone who thinks that Roman Catholicism is just about preaching a narrow morality would do well to consider the overall message of this book: "God coming to meet us in all the drama of our lives: birth and death, eating and drinking, sex and healing.” Radcliffe is concerned with an inner spiritual life – “breathing with the rhythm of the Eucharist” as he calls it. As is fitting to someone who has been Master of the Catholic Church’s Order of Preachers, he is a great wordsmith, and phrases such as “Grace means we can stretch, stand upright and unwind as we do to prayer the Our Father” rub shoulders with intriguing chapter titles such as “The Body Electric” and “Breeding Pandas.” He cites Rowan Williams with as much ease as he does thirteen-century theologians, and roots his thinking in traditional teaching, in the Gospels. Quirky, humorous, but with a serious set of messages about what really is the point of being a Christian, this is a great book to give focus to a lacklustre Lent or to give colour to the greyer days of the Christian life.

Help when we need it
In this beautifully written book there is an inflinching look at the difficulties of being a Christian today. But this look is never less than passionate in its hope for all men and in its plea for us to look away from ourselves and our own narrow desires towards the incredible gift which is God's loving path for us.